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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24329749">Taking it Slow</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/gimmekensei/pseuds/gimmekensei'>gimmekensei</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bleach</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Author Is Sleep Deprived, Boyfriends, Consent, I Ship It, M/M, Shuhei is too cute for his own good</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:02:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,720</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24329749</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/gimmekensei/pseuds/gimmekensei</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Look ahead.” Kensei murmured, his warm breath brushing against Shuhei’s chilled skin, making the Lieutenant shiver at the contact and do as told. “Good...now quit looking like I’m gonna kill ya. It really kills the mood, y’know?”</p><p>(one-shot)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hisagi Shuuhei/Muguruma Kensei</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Taking it Slow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Look ahead.” Kensei murmured, his warm breath brushing against Shuhei’s chilled skin, making the Lieutenant shiver at the contact and do as told. “Good...now quit looking like I’m gonna kill ya. It really kills the mood, y’know?” He chuckled, the sound vibrating faintly in his chest as his arm curled around Shuhei’s slender chest, his gloved fingers curling around the boy’s neck. It wasn’t a tight hold, but nonetheless, the younger of the two felt affected by it, evident by his sudden shortness of breath, the warming of his cheeks and the lustful-haziness in his eyes. Normally Hisagi would feel shameful for acting in such a lewd, unbecoming manner, but this was his mentor. He could trust Kensei with everything because they both knew deep down that the former Captain wouldn’t dare truly hurt the Lieutenant of the ninth. Furthermore, it helped to calm Hisagi’s nerves recalling their conversation just a few weeks prior to this. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
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  <em>
    <span>“I...believed you to be dead.” </span>
  </em>
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    <span>“Yeah, guess you’re mistaken then kid.” Kensei chuckled, arms loosely across his chest as he studied the lieutenant before him. He might be stubborn like a mule and not quick to the occasion, but even he could recall who this brat was. And damn, he wasn’t responsible for this kid’s growth and molding into a lieutenant of their division, but he sure did feel a surge of pride just looking at him. Tousen had fucked up a lot of things and probably had messed this kid up in the head at some point, but he had survived. And now here he was, right before him. In his presence, looking like a perfect, unconsciously seductive fallen angel. (Okay, so maybe that sounded cringy, but hell normally he left the cheezy, poetic stuff to Rose. Shoot him for trying.) </span>
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    <span>“Though I gotta admit, I’m surprised that of all places you came here.” Kensei’s eyes moved to survey the damages to the warehouse that had been home for the past set of years away from his true home of soul society. </span>
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    <span>“Admittedly, I am as well.” Was Shuhei’s soft reply, the lieutenant going silent to follow the older male’s gaze, analyzing with him the holes in the ceiling, the scorched marks on the wall and several craters lining the floor. Evidence of people living and training there still existed, even with the battle with Aizen. </span>
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    <span>“So if I asked why did you come, could you answer that, Shu?” Kensei responded and had to fight back a bark of amusement at seeing Shuhei’s eyes widen and glisten at hearing his name be turned into a nickname. </span>
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    <span>“You...really do remember me.” Those hushed words exited Hisagi’s lightly chapped lips, and boy, did he sound awed and humbled even. </span>
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    <span>“‘Course I did. It’s not every day I meet a kid that went from being all teary-eyed to being the lieutenant of my division.” </span>
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    <span>“Our division.” Shuhei retorted, letting that gentle correction settle between them before adding on, “You...must have considered me pitiful back then.” He didn’t phrase it as a question and rather let the words drop without a beat. </span>
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    <span>“Heh, nah actually. Would it make you feel better if I lied and said you were pitiful? Or,” Kensei trailed off as he took a step closer to bridge some of the gap between them. It was becoming more and more obvious that Shuhei was at least an extra inch taller than him, but it wasn’t that noticeable considering Kensei was more muscular than the soul reaper before him. “Would it make you feel better if I said what I really thought then, hmm?” Before Shuhei could respond, the visor flashed a faint smile, less scary-looking than his normal smirks. “I thought it was noble that even when the odds were stacked up against you, you tried with all your might to protect those other kids with you. I asked for your name for a reason, kid...because I knew you had potential. And look, now here we are. You’re a lieutenant of the ninth. Be proud!”  </span>
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    <span>Shuhei’s gaze dropped, but his stance was relaxed and he didn’t seem perturbed in the least that Kensei was getting into his personal space. Strangely he felt helpless in the former Captain’s presence but Hisagi wasn’t trembling like a leaf and rather felt more strength to speak up. “...in some ways I am. But, it’s a bittersweet feeling.” </span>
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    <span>Kensei’s pierced eyebrow arched slightly. “Bittersweet, huh? The things that happened weren’t your fault. Hell, I didn’t expect to get stabbed by my own division and tossed aside like trash. You couldn’t have known that your Captain would betray Soul Society. So there’s no need to feel like that...keep your head up and be proud that you survived and kept your division together. That’s an impressive feat considering you were without a Captain. But,” Kensei rubbed the back of his neck, “it just comes to show that you can hold your own. Heh, you really are mature for your age.” </span>
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    <span>“.....I see.” Shuhei kept his response mediocre as his eyes settled to look up once more at the visored’s. “You have made a fair point. I can’t think of a good argument to combat that.” </span>
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    <span>He got a quiet laugh in response to that. “Good. Now just make sure to not forget it.” </span>
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  <em>
    <span>“Hai…” </span>
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    <span>Kensei cracked another smile and pulled his glove off with his teeth only to toss the fabric aside, discarding it for the moment. He could return to it later. The older man took another step forward and before Shuhei had a chance to react, he gently cupped the boy’s cheek, right where the shared tattoo existed. “You know I gotta ask about this…” </span>
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    <span>“I-I…” Shuhei’s stoic walls started crumbling as his cheeks become dusted with a light, rosy pink. Hella is adorable in Kensei’s opinion. </span>
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    <span>“I’m not mad Shu, actually touched but right here on the cheek?” Kensei’s lips curled upwards. “Others probably mistake it to mean something else...guess you’re popular at the bars?” </span>
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    <span>Shuhei stuttered under his breath and pushed the hand away, shivering faintly when his cheek suddenly lacked the earlier warmth from the former Captain’s surprisingly tender touch. “I don’t regret getting it. P-Please drop the subject though.” </span>
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    <span>“Heh, got it…I’ll stop picking at you.” Kensei purred teasingly, grinning when the Lieutenant shot him a dirty look, but honestly it just made the lieutenant look even cuter. Just like a growling kitten. Not that he would tell Hisagi that. Though….telling him might get a good reaction…“Heh, blushing now? Gonna crush on me at this rate?” </span>
  </em>
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    <span><br/>
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  <em>
    <span>“Y-You wish!” </span>
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</p>
<hr/><p>
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  </em>
  <span>“You’re still stiff. Need me to stop, Shu? There’s no shame in pausing or stopping completely…” The older adult there and the one in control of what was happening, Kensei felt the need to keep checking to ensure Shuhei was still doing okay. Hisagi might be pretty innocent and easy to read at times, but there were still occasional moments where Kensei wasn’t quite sure what was going on in his head. </span>
  <span><br/>
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  <span>“I..I don’t wish to stop, but…” Trailing off, Shuhei shuddered and did his best to relax his muscles. “I’m not used to being touched like this.” </span>
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  <span>“Like this? In what way?” Kensei asked, dipping his head down to press a sweet kiss to the youngster’s bare throat. He definitely wanted to mark the skin up there and lay his claim, but patience was key if he planned on truly making Shuhei his boyfriend. </span>
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  <span>“I haven’t slept with anyone, let alone considered having a sexual relationship with someone.” Hisagi quietly admitted, his eyes slipping close at his admission. There was no need to feel shame, but his stomach was mere seconds away from cramping up under the weight of his stress. </span>
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  <span>The older male paused all motions only to slowly pull his hand away from Shuhei’s throat and gently moved so they were both facing each other. They both needed clear heads in order to have this conversation and though Kensei seriously wanted to go back to touching Shuhei and stealing kisses, he needed to ensure that the kid was comfortable at </span>
  <b>
    <em>all </em>
  </b>
  <span>times. He would never force the lieutenant to do anything he didn’t want to do. Consent was key for any relationship to be solid. </span>
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  <span>“Talk with me Shu.” Kensei murmured softly, keeping his tone light and his hands at his sides. He watched quietly as Shuhei’s eyes flickered open. </span>
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  <span>“I want this...I want to accept your offer of dating, however, I must ask that we take things slow.” Shuhei whispered before shyly reaching out to lock their hands together and gave a gentle squeeze. “I trust you immensely…” </span>
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</span>
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  <span>“I know…” Kensei murmured right back, returning the affectionate squeeze. “We’ll take things as slowly as needed. Besides, we got all the time in the world..” They both cracked innocent smiles at that. </span>
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  <span>“We sure do….” Shuhei’s lips still formed a smile as he stepped forward and silently asked for permission. Kensei’s slight nod was all he needed and Hisagi leaned forward to brush their lips together. For a quiet moment they stayed in each other’s arms, slowly exploring each other’s mouths. Finally breaking the kiss, Kensei cracked another grin and pecked a kiss to the tip of Shuhei’s nose. </span>
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  <span>“Fuckin’ hell Shu…” The raspy comment slipped uncontrollably from the silver-haired male’s lips. It was almost embarrassing how such a simple touch had managed to affect him so. </span>
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  <span>“Falling in love?” The soul reaper teased lightly and gave another squeeze. He received a small chuckle in response. “Heh, I’m that easy to read, huh?” </span>
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  <span>“Well, seeing as we’re feeling the same way...it’s easy to read you…” </span>
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  <span>“Oi, trying to be smooth or somethin’?” </span>
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  <span>“Perhaps~” </span>
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  <span>“Careful, I was almost touched there.” Kensei snickered and pulled Shuhei into his arms, smiling faintly when the Lieutenant's arms came round to wrap around his back. He didn’t know for sure what the future held, but he knew that whatever happened, they’d find a way to make it work. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Now though… </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kensei stayed quiet as the gears in his head started to turn. He was going to need to find a way to be nearer to Shuhei. Now that he thought of it, the ninth had a vacant seat...if he pulled some strings...maybe, just maybe… </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So yeah, I didn't have any plans in mind when writing this up. It went from sexy to adorable to just too cute. Haha, so this might be a bit of a rollercoaster read, but I don't regret writing this one-shot. It's been a few days since I last posted something ShuKen, so consider this one-shot as an apologetic gift! I might be slow in updating next week, since my birthday is coming up and university class struggles are still prevalent. But, I hope everyone is staying safe in these crazy messed up times!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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